Last week, a customer at Price Chopper in upstate New York tweeted a relatively mild insult about the store: “Every time I go to @PriceChopperNY I realize why they r not @wegmans. Tonight -bare produce areas & this sign 4 ex http://yfrog.com/2tfj9sj.” In return, Price Chopper contacted the man’s employer and complained about him.

A professor at Syracuse University started a Tumblr blog about the issue. He says the customer who was targeted was his friend, and that he therefore has a first hand an account of what happened after his friend posted the tweet. He says someone at Price Chopper obtained the customer’s employer information and proceeded to contact people there. (To clarify, the professor says that the customer does not work for a company that has a business relationship with Price Chopper.)

Although Price Chopper did reply to the customer directly, they did not wait for a response before dragging the individual’s employer into the mix. In an email addressed to a seemingly random list of executives at the customer’s workplace, including the customer’s supervisor, Price Chopper labeled the individual as destructive and negative. They suggested that this individual’s distaste for their stores could jeopardize the relationship between Price Chopper and the company where the individual is employed, and they requested action be taken against the individual.

Once the Tumblr page went up, the director of Price Chopper’s PR department jumped on to comment, and said that they were reaching out to the customer to apologize for what happened. Then the rogue employee who targeted the customer left a public apology as well. It reads in part:

I took matters into my own hands. And though well-intentioned, I clearly went over the line – without the knowledge of our consumer insights people or my direct supervisor, the Vice President of Public Relations and Consumer and Marketing Services. I was trying to understand and engage a disgruntled customer and clearly lost sight of my goal.

I’m not sure how contacting someone’s employer and requesting disciplinary action–over a tweet posted from a private Twitter account, no less–can be considered “well-intentioned” by even the loosest definition, and from her apology I get the impression that this employee learned nothing except to be more subtle when she tries to punish a customer next time. But hey, at least her behavior was exposed.

And remember, if you want to shop at Price Chopper, make sure you use an anonymous Twitter account before you complain about their barren produce section or dumb store signage.

LMAO! Exactly what I was thinking… Seriously, I want to know what those executives think of this. I know if this happened to a military person, they would have gotten reprimanded with a letter (because the military believes you don’t have an opinion when you are in the military).

Random baking/cooking supplies. Where I shop, cooking oils and pie fillings are usually close to each other. Also, for some reason a TON of people think canned pumpkin should be with canned fruit, and it never will be. It’s always going to be with pie fillings. I buy plain canned pumpkin a lot and when I go to a new store, I have to hunt for it and convince my shopping partner that it’s not with the fruit. :-P

There are definitely pie crust gadgets. Pie crust shields, which you put over the crust edges during baking when the inside needs more baking time but the edges are already brown enough. Pie weights, which you use in the bottom of a crust that you are blind baking (that is, baking just the crust with no filling in it) so it doesn’t bubble up. Pie birds, which you put in the middle of a pie that has a top crust instead of pricking it with a fork, so it will channel the steam out of the pie instead of creating a big dome. There you go.

I’ve never been in a grocery store which puts syrups and pie fillings on the list. Not sure if the list is customized based on what their customers ask for a lot. Probably a different customer base at the two stores so it’s a bit of commentary on the quality of products you typically find there.

PR departments really should have a huge sign that says “Pyrrhic victory” on the walls of their office and then look at that before they think about attacking some lone Twitter user or any other random jerk off the street with whom they take issue.

A random employee? Did you even read the article? Long story short, here is the linkedin account for the person who made the threatening twitter post, shes definately not a low-ranking employee: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ameerah

You are correct sir. His exact words on the blog are “I was consulted and given a firsthand account of the situation after it unfolded.” so he wasn’t actually claiming that his own retelling is firsthand but that he got it firsthand.

I would be tearing someone at Price Chopper a new one if they tried something like that with me. If you run a business then you are going to be criticized, acting like a whiny child when that happens just makes you look like a giant insecure douche. I will never set foot in a price chopper again.

Why on earth should that guy’s employer care that he likes Wegman better that PriceChopper? Does his employer actually have a business relationship with PriceChopper or is the rep who wanted him fired just nuts?

If you google map “grocery store” in “Syracuse NY” you’ll notice that Price Chopper is *the* closest major chain grocery store to Syracuse University (the employer). I can only imagine that Price Chopper would like gullible SU students to continue shopping there.

I also want to add that being randomly vindictive because someone said something bad about you is not an uncommon reaction in Central NY, and that likely Price Chopper won’t take a local hit for this misstep. I blame the harsh weather for the harsh attitudes.

Meh – most of the kids at SU make the extra 4 mile trek to Wegmans. That PC is way too ghetto for most of the upper crust kids who go there. ;) All it takes is one visit to Price Chopper at 11pm (beer run) when the most crazy people are there shopping, and they’ll be a Wegs convert for the next 4 years…

It has been confirmed that the customer who was targeted in this situation did not work for a company that had any existing relationship with Price Chopper. They were not a client or a supplier of any kind. They are completely unrelated businesses.

So I have to ask again: Why on EARTH should a completely unrelated business care that one of their employees said something negative about a supermarket? To think this would actually get him fired is just nuts.

You can post a link to a site…perhaps your employer or to a blog where your employer is referenced. It’s entirely possible he works in a field where his Twitter handle is used as a primary identifier for his work, so it would have been easy to find online.

If his full name is on his Twitter account, and it’s not a very common name, a google search might bring up that info. Googling several of my friends brings up their LinkedIn profiles, which essentially contain their entire resume.

I’m also noticing a good cop/bad cop-like dynamic to some of the comments in the original blog (a PC rep being conciliatory, an unlinked commenter accusing the professor of abusing his position and profusely thanking the PC rep…).

Easy. People tend to twitter about stuff where they work, and sometimes profiles even include the name of the company. If not, it’s not hard to figure out which of someone’s twitter friends appear to be coworkers, and then you check out their profiles and look for clues or commonalities.

If they link to their Facebook page, go there and look for the same info. Facebook makes it even easier to find employer info and coworkers.

Sometimes people post pictures of work events. Look for banners or other things.

If an email address can be found anywhere, google it and see if it has appeared on resumes or other public documents. If the person’s real name can be found, google that and get their home address and such. If a car license plate can be seen in pictures (“Hey look at my new wheels!!!”) take that tag number to the state tag office and get an MVR which usually lists home address and sometimes a work address.

The first clue was the link at the top for the actual tweet. When you open it up you see “@jjhoster” at the bottom. Google “jjhoster” and you’ll see a link for his Facebook page. When you open that up you’ll see that his main profile photo is the same on his twitter account from before.

Do a new google search for Jonathan J hoster and not much new comes up, but do a search again for just Jonathan hoster and you’ll see a LinkedIn page. Voila..

Anyone who has ever HAD to shop at Price Chopper, knows why Wegmans is so successful. Price Chopper stores are dirty, poorly organized, and staffed by surly employees, Wegmans stores on the other hand are clean, well organized, have a huge selection, and are actually good at providing customer service.

IMHO, the Price Chopper employee who pulled this lame stunt should be fired.

I agree, the rogue employee should be canned on the spot. It sucks that you’ve had such a rotten experience with Price Chopper… they are my favorite supermarket. Most of my local ones are huge, very clean and organized. But, in your defense… I have seen the bad ones. And if I only had a choice between the bad Price Choppers or Hell– well, lets say I’d have a hard decision to make.

We are coming to get you, so you can either cooperate with us and do it the easy way, or we can do it the difficult way. Please provide the following information so we can push our well-intentioned thoughts on you:

First Name:
Last Name:
Home Address:
Phone Number
E-mail:
Employer:
Employer Address:
Direct Supervisor Name:
Work Phone Number:
Blood Type:
Name of first born child:
Do You Own a Small Dog?
Social Security Number (For Identity Theft Purposes Only):
Driver’s License Number:
Credit Card Numbers:
Wegmans Shoppers Club Number:

We are coming to get you, so you can either cooperate with us and do it the easy way, or we can do it the difficult way. Please provide the following information so we can push our well-intentioned thoughts on you:

First Name: Meow
Last Name: Maximus
Home Address: the sunny windowsill
Phone Number: (555)-AWE-SOME
E-mail: meowmeowmeowmeow@meow.cat
Employer: Acme Exterminators Inc
Employer Address: the house with the sunny windowsill with the handsome cat in it
Direct Supervisor Name: Me! Its my Company, silly
Work Phone Number: (555)-DIE-MICE
Blood Type: Q
Name of first born child: Scruffy
Do You Own a Small Dog? HELL NO
Social Security Number (For Identity Theft Purposes Only): 3 (yes I got one of the early ones)
Driver’s License Number: none – my chauffeur handles that
Credit Card Numbers: I don’t need them, I pay cash for everything
Wegmans Shoppers Club Number: 1 (been a loyal customer for a LONG time)

Sincerely,
Price Chopper

You’re welcome! Now you still owe me for that last extermination job, so PAY UP or I let the mice & rats back IN to your store…

Also, how was this even worth getting upset about in the first place? It doesn’t get more mild than complaining about a store being out of stock and a photo of a sign that doesn’t have any spelling errors or double entendres.

Never been to a Price Chopper, but there is no shame in not being a Wegmans. Wegman’s is awesome.

It’s actually cheaper by me than the ShopRite. I think part of the reason it has an expensive reputation is that is offers expensive items I wouldn’t find at ShopRite. But for similar items, I generally find that they are comparable, and in some cases, the Wegman’s brand is cheaper than the ShopRite brand.

And there are like 18 different cafes/delis there. Only downside is that in trying to be “fancy” the aisles get a little hard to navigate and get congested.

The first clue was the link at the top for the actual tweet. When you open it up you see “@jjhoster” at the bottom. Google “jjhoster” and you’ll see a link for his Facebook page. When you open that up you’ll see that his main profile photo is the same on his twitter account from before.

Do a new google search for Jonathan J hoster and not much new comes up, but do a search again for just Jonathan hoster and you’ll see a LinkedIn page. Voila..

The Price Chopper employee who did this should be fired. Really, there is no way that behavior is excusable. He recklessly damaged someone else’s career in a way that wasn’t simply out of proportion but wasn’t even functionally related to what happened. The “apology” is plainly inadequate and self-serving in ways which defy comprehension. Good intentions are implausible here. Claiming to try to understand or engage the customer is implausible unless a good deal is being left out. The Price Chopper employee made a grave error of judgment and shouldn’t continue to be employed there.

yes , you went over the line. you went over the line for me to remember the name of you store and put it in a special file on my phone with all the companies to avoid doing business with because they are bullies. Someone shold get you fired for being a schmuck. these days when jobs are hard to come by you went out to get someone fired because of their opinion. you sir SUCK!

Price Chopper is terrible. Plain and simple. In college, I would drive 20 minutes out of my way to go to Wegmans despite a Chopper being down the street. Now that I’ve moved to Virginia, I can say Price Chopper remains the worst grocery store I’ve shopped at, out of Wegmans, P&C, Giant, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Bloom, Food Lion (which is pretty bad), and Shoppers.

I had this happen with a local hotel. One of their customer service people replied to my tweet asking me to email the details, which I provided. The problem was fixed quickly, much more quickly than if I had to wade through the sea of morons in their reservations department.

After that happened, their sales rep that deals with our account called my boss and complained that I should have called them rather than complaining on Twitter. My boss was all, whatever. My comment to her was, it was fixed, wasn’t it? I still complain when I see fit, not that it usually does any good.

Their Twitter page is getting hammered with angry customers and those just pissed about this story. This is a good example of what’s right with social media. Global recognition and smackdowns when they’re deserved. No one is safe!

I’m amazed at how many people, it seemed to me, on the tumblr site are saying, “Sure, the Price Chopper employee over reacted, but…” and then some sort of warning to people about being careful what they say in public, or that complaints should go first to the company and only if it’s not resolved to say anything, etc.

“Most companies at least want to have the chance to answer an unhappy customer directly. Lets give them a chance to listen if we want to share our dissatisfaction. If we continually spout off in social places our intimate secrets, thoughts and unhappiness, can we really blame the backlash that occurs.” and “But, we should also learn how to use social media, we should only write here, what we are ready to say in person, and what we are ready to deffend in a court.
The right we have to express anything does not mean we have to do it. “

“I’m always surprised at how most people think freedom of speech gives them the right to damage other peoples interests.”

WTF? It wasn’t a formal complaint. It wasn’t slandering the store. It was letting off a little steam when irritated.

There’s a Price Chopper just a few blocks away from me. Since I live in a small town they’re stock at this store is limited and they don’t have the selection of their larger stores.
I shop at the Hannaford 5 miles away instead. Overall, prices are cheaper and Hannaford has a better selection.

Ok, I know this is not going to be popular here, but I like both Wegman’s & Price Chopper. I have heard stories about this other Price Chopper store near me that is a _____ hole, but I still have not found it. Somebody told me it was ghetto, whatever that means. Wegman’s has more variety, but this particular Price Chopper gives me a discount on fuel & is much closer to my house. Also it is a brand new store and is nice, clean, bright, and has almost everything, but yes Wegman’s would be better if it weren’t 6 miles out of the way.

I really don’t see how getting a tweeter’s employer involved in a PR dispute (which is what this is, although a better phrase may be “ego revenge”) is anything but an attempt to bully the tweeter into submission.

I hope she still has her job, because this is a really evil thing to do. What would add insult to injury is if the grocer sued both the tweeter and her employer for lost business.